Saviour Smith turns Saints over

?We went there in May last season and had Valencia on our minds, to be honest. It all turned against us. We lost to Arsenal and our biggest week in football turned into our worst. Valencia beat us and our season fell apart.

?So we owe it to ourselves to put up a good fight this season and that includes going to Arsenal and trying to get three points. It would be nice for me to start at Highbury, but Southampton wasn?t about proving a point to people.

?I look around the Premiership at all the good players on the bench ? but that doesn?t make it easy to accept. Maybe the gaffer was looking for my reaction. It was a matter of not shouting the odds and taking it on the chin, then showing him you?re good enough to play.?

Southampton skipper Dean Richards, who could yet be on his way to Tottenham, believed his team had done enough to earn a precious point ? until Keane was replaced by Smith. Before long the £8million-rated defender was left stranded as Smith outfoxed him to score an outstanding 80th-minute goal, 13 minutes after his constant harrying had led indirectly to Bowyer?s firmly-struck opener.

Smith, who admitted later he couldn?t remember the details of his goal, ran to the Kop and kissed his badge, while an admiring Bowyer said: ?What a great finish ? he did a Johan Cruyff turn and passed it into the corner. I was going to go in for a possible rebound but I should have known better.?

Richards said: ?Leeds never got behind us until Smith came on and gave them a different dimension. He?s a real handful and he works his socks off. We felt that we had weathered the storm and could even have been ahead if not for Nigel Martyn?s great save from Uwe Rosler.

?They?d thrown everything at us and were starting to run out of ideas. But Smith coming on gave the crowd a massive lift.?

Former Arsenal idol O?Leary must be tempted to start him at Highbury and use Keane as his ?impact? player, a ploy that worked well during the climb to fourth place in the second half of last season.

He said: ?I wasn?t surprised by what Smithy did ? I see him do that most days in training. It?s a big decision to leave either of them out, but these are the decisions you want to have to make ? and we?ve still got Michael Bridges to come back.?

There is no rancour about the contest for places. Smith and Keane hugged as they exchanged roles, and Smith said: ?I told him he?d done his best. We?re pals as well as rivals. I want him to do well when he?s in, and hopefully viceversa. If we win trophies it will be together, as a squad.?